Top Performing African Countries in SDG

Source: Mo Ibrahim Foundation, The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa. Sustainable Development Solutions Network

In the 2020 Africa SDG Index and Dashboards Report, most of the 17 SDG goals have witnessed serious setbacks, mainly due to COVID-19.

The slowdown of domestic economic activity translates into revenue shortfalls. The financing gap for SDGs in Africa that was already large is expected to widen, increasing the fiscal vulnerability of African governments. Without financial resources, sustainable development is elusive.

Due to the on-going economic crisis, trade and financial streams have been hampered and global financial conditions are tighter than normal. Remittances, official development assistance (ODA), and portfolio flows have taken a nosedive and are likely to remain subdued through 2021.

Overall, North Africa is the best-performing region on average, while Central Africa is the worst-performing. No country scored green for 13 of the 17 goals. Only SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) are moderately better.

Across all countries and goals, the most frequently observed trends are stagnation and moderate improvement, which is a positive development as compared to the 2019 analysis which was overwhelmingly stagnant.

Ethiopia ranked 22nd, scoring 54.15. However, Ethiopia scored 39.3 in the leave no one behind (LNOB) ranking. Ethiopia has seen moderate improvements in poverty reduction, decent work and economic growth, and climate action. South Sudan is last in the ranking, with 32.36. The average score for Africa is 53.82, while it is 70.7 for the European Union. EBR

9th Year • Dec 16 2020 – Jan 15 2021 • No. 93